Sunday, March 23, 2008

Number 517 - Beach Boys

I had the strangest vivid dream last night. I dreamt of a volcano exploding in Mexico ...... of all places Mexico! I didn't even know they had volcano's till i checked Google this morning and discovered Mexico has a volcano only 70 Kms out from their main city Mexico City, Its OK, I'm quite positive that i am not a direct descendant of Nostradamus. Remember its only a dream.....but you read it here first.

I would also like to welcome the Wordpress.com readers to this site. Out off all the sites, like myspace, facebook, blogspot and a few others that have "The Definitive 1000 Songs of all Time", has been warmly viewed by the Wordpress readers but most of all the feedback this site has had. Worpress by far has had the most comments from any site! Not only that, but just yesterday, "The Definitive 1000" was featured in their Entertainment section. I have been here almost 2 years in Blogspot.com and not once ever been featured (not that i would expect it either). I have enjoyed the Wordpress experience and thank them very much for their support. Its a nice buzz .. yanno. ~ crowbarred

Anyway ~!..... The Beach Boys make their 5th entry (the most by any artist so far) with one of my personal favourites "Little Deuce Coupe" from 1963.

Photoshop? no way

Capitol pushed the Beach Boys for too much material in too short a time for the group to maintain as much quality control as would have been desirable. Consequently, most of their pre-1965 albums contain a high degree of filler, and thus stack up poorly next to those of such contemporaries as the Beatles, who were able to maintain high standards on almost all of their tracks. Surfer Girl does have some great tunes, including the title song, the hot rod ditty "Little Deuce Coupe," and "Catch a Wave" (which could have been a substantial hit single on its own merits).

5 dudes and 1 board? Nuh uh

Most significant of all is the gorgeous ballad "In My Room," which anticipated future Beach Boys releases both in its sophisticated production (strings, organ, dense harmonies) and its personal, solipsistic lyrics. The rest is surprisingly mediocre filler, especially as at this point they were restricting their lyrical themes to beach culture almost exclusively; "Your Summer Dream," with its unusual harmonies, is about the most interesting of the obscure tracks. If you're not a dedicated Beach Boys fan, though, you should pass, as you can find the first-rate tracks on best-of anthologies. [Surfer Girl/Shut Down, Vol. 2, a Capitol two-fer CD, combines this and Shut Down, Vol. 2 onto one disc, adding the 45 version of "Fun, Fun, Fun," a German version of "In My Room," and the previously unreleased Brian Wilson composition "I Do."] ~ [Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide]

About Little Deuce Coupe...

"Little Deuce Coupe" is a song written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian. The song first appeared on the Surfer Girl album. It was later featured as the title track of the album Little Deuce Coupe, by American band The Beach Boys. The music was written by Brian Wilson with the lyrics by local radio station DJ Roger Christian, it typified the Beach Boys' "car songs" which along with "surfing", glamourised the teenage 1960s Californian lifestyle. Lead vocals were performed by Mike Love. The car referred to is the Ford Model B; the 1932 model was referred to as a "deuce coupe". Model Bs were readily available and easily modified, as auto enthusiasts (or "hot rodders") removed spare weight and improved the engine. ~ [Source:Wikipedia]

In their early '60s hits the Beach Boys virtually invented California rock. Brian Wilson's songs celebrated an idealized California teenhood - surfing, driving, dating - and his productions were a glossy, perfectionistic, ultra-smooth blend of guitars and vocal harmonies, with their experiments concealed. While the Beach Boys attempted more grown-up topics and more obvious progressivism in the late ’60s, they survived into the late ’90s as America’s premier nostalgia act. Through the years, the Beach Boys have not only been “America’s band” but arguably one of the greatest American rock bands ever. The Beach Boys have sold well over 65 million records worldwide.

Just like the front cover

Murray Wilson, who was later revealed to have been psychologically and physically abusive to his sons, managed their band and got them a contract with Capitol. The hits began: “Surfin’ Safari” (#14, 1962); “Surfin’ U.S.A.” (#3, 1963), a note-for-note copy of Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen” with new lyrics; and “Surfer Girl” (#7, 1963), all of which launched and capitalized on the “surf music” fad, although only Dennis surfed regularly. “Surfer Girl” marked Brian’s emergence as a producer, with its complex vocal harmonies and sophisticated pop chords. An admirer of producer Phil Spector, Brian would continue to refine his skills and become perhaps one of the greatest record producers in rock.

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About Me

Name: crowbarred

Location: Victoria, Australia

Welcome to "The Definitive 1000 Songs of All Time 1955 to 2005" & the Mellow Mix Volumes.This site is merely to question Rolling Stone Magazine's Top 500 Songs. Everyone has songs they
like and everyone has dislikes. Remember music is like clothing.. there are many styles,
so why on earth would all people want to wear jockey "Y" fronts???
Oh, & don't forget to RATE the songs. Ta